Looks I’m Lovin’ #3: Wide-Brimmed Hats Rule!

As you probably know, we had the Grammys a couple of weeks ago. I’ve never been (and I’m still not) a fan of the event, but I decided to watch the live-stream of the red carpet this year. Most of it was quite  boring and unimpressive, just as I expected, but there was one thing that caught my attention…

Yeah, that’s right: as you can see, Janelle Monáe was wearing a wide-brimmed hat extremely similar to mine! :D

She was not only wearing a cool hat, but she also paired it with a tailcoat. The whole thing reminded me of my Black Death Mariachi outfit a lot! How awesome is that? :D Of course, I would change the shoes… but, hey – nothing is perfect! :P

[Janelle is wearing an Against Nature vest and shirt, a Moschino jacket, a Ralph Lauren hat, and carrying a Jimmy Choo clutch]

The other surprise of the night turned out to be 2 Chainz. I don’t know much about him or about how he usually looks (aside from the fact that he always wears two chains LOL), but I have to say that his Versace outfit was totally impressive. He would have made a nice pair with Janelle Monáe! LOL

[2 Chainz wore a Versace cape and Christian Louboutin shoes]

It’s curious that my last year’s favourite look was also a Versace. Of course, I’m talking about Nicki Minaj’s controversial Red Riding Hood/nun dress – imitation Pope included! The whole thing ended up being quite superficial, but I still think that was a cool idea… and you have to admit it’s the best Nicki Minaj has ever looked! LOL

PS. Do you like my new header? :P I still can’t believe I made it entirely with my cell phone! I edited the picture with Pixlr-o-matic and added the text with Aviary. How awesome is that? LOL I’m still amazed that I have apps on my phone that do things I don’t even know how to do with Photoshop ^O^

Looks I’m Lovin’ #2: Suits!

I have a very curious thing with the subject of today’s post: I love suits and I hate suits.

OK, I should explain myself properly.

There’s nothing in the world I find less appealing than a regular guy wearing a regular suit (a.k.a. what we get sick of seeing at the Oscars ever since the 1930s). It’s probably because it represents the acceptance of the values and social etiquette of the establishment, but I just can’t stand it!

However, I also believe that there’s nothing in the world that dignifies a person’s look more than a suit does – which is probably the reason why masculine fashion has been restricting men from wearing any other type of clothing at formal occasions for the last 200 years.

So… how do we get out of this contradiction? Is it possible to look dignified without being boring? Can you be formal without being standard? Can you be powerful AND beautiful at the same time?

The answer is: of course you can!

All you have to do is break the rules and be creative!

Play with the colours!

We all know suits usually come in greyscale, ranging from the ultra-formal black you wear at funerals (or the Oscars) to the bluish light grey you use at work – white and beige are only acceptable in the hottest climates. Obviously, the objective of a good classical suit is to make you look as uninteresting as possible, so, why don’t you give it a twist and use it to make yourself visible instead? Mother Nature gave us the colours for a reason… or are men supposed to be colorblind?

Come on! Be original and catch the rainbow (just like the Rainbow song said LOL). The brighter, the better!

And, of course, electric blue is always a great place to start ;)

The suit pictured here is a piece from Banal Chic Bizarre 2012 Spring-Summer Menswear collection (don’t worry – you don’t need to wear a black hood over your face to look cooler LOL).

Red and blue taken to the next level!

Play with the patterns!

Run away from the subtle stripes and challenge the world with some unexpected patterns instead!

My personal favourites in this category are these suits from Yoshio Kubo 2012 Spring-Summer collection. The first one has this funny what’s-wrong-with-my-screen appeal you could only expect to find in Japanese fashion, and the second one is just killer!

Everything is allowed... as long as it’s not boring!

Even stripes can have a chance if you take their visual power to the maximum. Just like the more-than-legendary striped suit Dave Gahan wore in music video for I Feel You.

I apologize for repeating the word “killer” so many times in a row, but THAT’s the king of KILLER looks!

Play with the structures!

Take the challenge to another level and defy the conventional structure… just like Bill did with this awesome Jean Paul Gaultier blazer.

Of course, talking about turning boring suits into objects of beauty and adoration, I couldn’t skip over Bill Kaulitz – one of the huge experts in the subject, along with Master Marilyn Manson.

This outfit still knocks me out every time I see it, not just because of its unbelievable coolness, but also because of the awesome reinterpretation Bill made of the original piece. The fact itself that this blazer was originally created as womenswear (Rihanna wore it a few months before he did in quite a different context, much more similar to the version that was displayed in the catwalk) says something about how great his vision was when he decided to take it and transform it into this ultra-edgy sort of SS uniform.

I don’t know what if that’s what he had in mind when he put up this outfit, but, whatever it was, he looks awesome as f**k (I’m quoting Green Day here LOL) in it.

This suit from Banal Chic Bizarre (you might have already recognized the collection by the black hood) is another wonderful example of challenging structures. It even has a bunch of subtle punk details placed there specifically for my enjoyment (LOL)!

Play with the materials!

Don’t think I need to explain this one (LOL).

Pictured below are Marilyn Manson and Dita Von Teese dressed fully in latex: the proof that wearing fancy suits is perfectly compatible with a socially acceptable heterosexual life (LOL).

I won’t be the one who tells you that a latex suit is the most practical solution for everyday life, but, just like Dita herself would say: “It’s not as comfortable as going naked, but there’s something about it we love”.

Got it? (LOL)

Animalize!

Remember the cover of the KISS album?

There you’ve got it! I’m not usually a big fan of animal prints, but they are certainly a great way of turning a suit into a big statement. Of course, this is only suitable for those who are not afraid of looking a bit gangster.

The first two looks featured here come from HEADL_INER 2012 Spring-Summer collection. The short pants and the heavy boots make them look quite childish (okay, the Indian headdress might help too LOL), and that’s something I find particularly lovely (maybe it’s time to check back on my London Calling post :P).

What did I just say about looking a bit gangster? (LOL)

This one here is the mythical Omega outfit (well, that’s what I call it LOL) Marilyn Manson wore at the VMAs in 1998 – I’ll spare you the vision of virtually naked Rose McGowan because I guess none of us wants to go through that again (LOL).

Now that suit IS a dream. If I wasn’t the size of one of Marilyn’s legs, I swear I’d sneak into his house and steal it… well, that’s if he still keeps it.

Unfortunately, I think it doesn’t look that great when you don’t have bright red hair to match it...

Glam it up!

Who said boys don’t glitter? Of course they do, and you should see just how!

No, those are not thigh-high boots (it took me months to figure that out LOL): it’s just a clever visual trick played by Rad Hourani. In fact, it’s a normal (well, “normal”) pair of trousers with matching high-heeled booties, but the overall effect is awesome. Rad Hourani is only releasing unisex collections (thank god SOMEBODY does that), so you can all feel welcome to join this trend… for a reasonable price (LOL).

Are those garter belts peeking from underneath Marilyn’s beautiful wine-coloured suit? Did he borrow them from his (ex)wife? (LOL) I love them! And I adore the huge false lashes he used to wear in that period, too.

Now that's what I call BEAUTIFUL.

Make your own rules!

Fancy suits are there for anyone who wants to use them, and this goes for everyone: boys, girls… who cares?! Never let anybody or anything tell you what you can and what you can’t wear!

Be brave and make your own rules… or otherwise the rules will make you.

Feel like trying something new? ;)

Looks I’m Lovin’ #1: We Found Love

I wasn’t too impressed by the song itself, but the video for We Found Love has turned out to be one of the coolest music videos I’ve seen this year.

What I specially love about it are the looks both Rihanna and Dudley O’Shaughnessy are wearing throughout the four and a half minutes of footage. It’s hard to believe that such a bizarre mixture of trashy punk, Rastafari, denim and sportsy casual fashion can work at all… but it really does! And what has surprised me the most is the truly androgynous quality of the result.

The two of them look like they could just be wearing each other’s clothes (I think they actually do that in some of the scenes) and it would make no difference. Even when she’s wearing the most feminine elements –like lingerie, stockings or short skirts–, Rihanna doesn’t look like the girl in the story. She just looks like herself, and that’s what this is all about, right?

Plus, I specially like the fact that she picked up such an elegantly slim boy for the part (nothing like the ultra-muscular Viking gods we’ve seen in some of the latest Lady Gaga or Jennifer Lopez vids). Guys can wear fancy clothes too, and I love to see them doing so! ;)

And now that I’m done with the introduction, let’s take a closer look at my favourite outfits in this video!

(It was quite hard to take screencaps of the entire looks, so I’d recommend you to watch it again afterwards in order to appreciate them better)

Punk Lolita

This is probably my favourite look in the entire video. It’s not hard to imagine something like this in the streets of Harajuku (I have a couple of outfits in this style myself! LOL). The blouse is just gorgeous, and the short skirt is balanced out by the worn-out stockings and the brutal platform shoes. I also love the oversize blazer she’s wearing on top. The whole look has a strict uniform feel to it, but it’s extremely punk at the same time.

However, what I like most about this look is how great it’s matched with Dudley’s ultra-punk outfit. The tartan pants, the red boots, the denim jacket… All I can say is: WOW.

Jamaican Jam

It takes a true Caribbean to wear a Rastafari hat and make it look like the most natural thing in the world. Unfortunately, there aren’t many shots of this outfit, so I haven’t been able to observe it in detail. I love the mix of the Jamaican hat with the jeans and the tracksuit jacket. There is something SO irresistibly boyish about this look…!

Of course, Dudley’s Kingston Pyjama Party outfit is just exquisite. It’s a pity there aren’t almost any shots of it, because it’s one of the craziest looks in the entire video. For what I can see, he’s wearing some U.S. flag themed pyjama-like denim suit under an oversize black blazer and a more discrete black Rastafari hat on top. INSANE!

Once again, both outfits are so perfectly combined the overall effect is more than impressive. Chapeau! ;)

Trashy Punk

This is probably the trashiest outfit in this video. The combination of elements (stockings, thick platform shoes, short skirt, belly-revealing blouse) is quite similar to the first outfit, but the combination of denim and white gives it a completely different feel. However, my favourite part of this look is that killer bomber jacket. It’s so wonderfully brutal it really balances the whole thing out.

Dudley’s full-denim look rules too. His Misfits jacket couldn’t be more iconic. If I’m not wrong, he’s wearing the same hat he was wearing at the store, and those straps… Whoa! That’s what I call a Rude Boy! :D

Denim & Crochet

Some more cool denim outfits. I really like the texture of those worn-out jeans, and the crochet top has a fancy grunge edge. Plus, is she wearing boxers? Me like! (LOL)

I can’t see much of Dudley’s outfit here, but I love the hoodie he’s wearing under the denim jacket (I have to say I’m a huge fan of hoodies! LOL). As strange as it may sound, I think it softens his look a bit and prevents him from looking too masculine.

Both outfits are perfectly matched, as usual, and the result is extremely lovely ^^

Rockabilly Craze

Some cool 50s-inspired rockabilly denim fashion. This outfit is quite minimal, but Rihanna is Rihanna and she can do whatever she wants (LOL). My favourite part of this look is her fancy retro-but-not-retro hairstyle with the bandana tied on her head. Plus, that killer look really KILLS!

Unfortunately, we can’t see what Dudley is wearing this time, so we won’t know how great their outfits are surely matched.

Miscellanea!

Commando Rastafari! – Is it me, or I’m seeing military fashion everywhere lately? LOL

“Yeeeeeah – it’s a party in the U.S.A.” ;)

I call this look… The Wrestler (LOL). I think that’s the Misfits jacket again, by the way. Like I said, they both look great in each other’s clothes :)

This is not the first time Rihanna experiments with androgynous and hard-edged looks, but I think she's never gone this far before. It feels like she's exploring new ground here, and I just hope she keeps on doing it, because there aren't many people out there who dare to be truly BRAVE with fashion, and that's right what this world needs :D

For those about to love RiRi (and Dudley O’Shaughnessy)… we salute you!